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Fancy reading some of my fiction?

I’ve been toying with putting some of my fiction on here for a while, but I’ve been quite nervous about it for a number of reasons. However, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that the benefits of having the opportunity to share and discuss my writing with people will surely outweigh the negatives, so I’ve decided to take the plunge. As anyone who writes will know, there’s always an element of fear involved in sharing your work. It’s hard to open an intensely private part of yourself up to the public eye and risk criticism and rejection. However, I write because I love telling stories, and rather than forever keeping my writing hidden away on my computer, I do want to share it with people. I’m not part of a writing group and I would love the opportunity to have conversations about my writing and how I could make it better. So, I’m hoping that by posting some of what I’m writing on here, I will be able to learn and develop by hearing what people honestly think of my stuff.

So. If you fancy seeing what I’m working on, you can find it under a new tab at the top of the blog – ‘My Writing’. I’ve posted the first three chapters of a book I recently finished writing, and any feedback – positive or negative! – would be very gratefully received.

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8 comments

Well, I’m not a writer, nor never will be, so I could not offer any criticism from that angle, but I read a lot and have always been impressed by your writing style and these first few chapters are no exception. The story so far is intriguing, reads smoothly, is well expressed and I can’t wait to read more. I think your should have total faith in your abilities and push ahead with the rest of the book. Good luck.

Rachel…You have a wonderful way of expressing yourself on Tea or Books, and I look forward to reading some of your writing. I especially love the illustration on this post ! How do you find such lovely paintings ?

That horror of exposing yourself – I know what you mean! Over at ninevoices.wordpress.com we posted a piece in September last year about Mary Stewart bursting into tears (‘Her publishers refused to pulp it’) and think what a wonderful writer she was … I am jolly well gong to cancel gardening this afternoon to settle down and read your chapters! I feel certain I’m going to enjoy and admire them. It’s interesting that you don’t belong to a writing group – one hears occasional horror stories of groups being dominated by a bore or a bossyboots but I reckon it’s a risk worth taking and it’s certainly a lot of fun on top of being encouraging and consoling.

And exposing yourself has its funny moments. One friend of mine commented that the central character in my novel Of Human Telling is rather like me, while another friend told me how much she disliked her …

Thanks so much Tanya – writing is wonderful when you can keep it all to yourself, but the sharing is always terrifying! That’s why I don’t think I could handle a writing group! That is funny – it just goes to show how different people’s perspectives can be! I will be very glad for your feedback when you have a moment to read – thank you for taking the time!

MUCH enjoyed reading this. However, I know you want proper feedback and also that I am not the right person to give it to you, as I can’t help having reservations about all these ‘rules’ repeated by the experts in creative writing. (This might explain why I self-published my two novels!) For example, I notice that you, like myself, have a lingering fondness for adverbs, and we are always told to use these at our peril … I suspect that editors would tell you to cut most of them out, and that this would tighten your writing. They might also tell you to be beware of ‘overwriting’ and to shorten paragraphs. Less is more, and all that. They are probably right, but it would be a shame if it meant losing something of the freshness and individuality of your writing voice.
I went to a How to Edit Your Book day at Bloomsbury recently (there’s a post about it by Maggie at ninevoices.wordpress.com) and because this included a ten minute private discussion with an editor, it was both useful and non-threatening. I’d recommend these days (Maggie went to one about historical fiction last year which might interest you) though they don’t come cheap …
But I do think professional feedback is worth getting; I always wish the members of my writing group were more stringent in their criticism. Rather than being alarming, groups can get a bit too cosy!
One obscure and irrelevant point, so take no notice! But as soon as I read the name Martha Cuthbert, my mind leapt to Marilla Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables.